Friday, May 24, 2013

My usual M.O. is to work on one project at a time until it is done, but for some reason lately I've been working on several projects simultaneously. I guess that's not surprising given that I have so many projects rolling around in my noggin that are just itching to get out. It's all the same to me as long as something gets done! Anyway, here are a few other things I've done this month so far besides the Dressed Up Birthday kit.First up is an artist trading card created for a swap in an ATC group I belong to. I was sent the three flowers stamped in black on white card stock as "mystery images," and I could do anything I wanted as long as I used at least one of the flowers on my card. I decided to paint the flowers with Radiant Pearls paints to give them a serious shimmer. (I haven't used my Radiant Pearls in about a decade, so it was lots of fun having them out again!) Next I created a background by running some lavender pergamano (like heavy vellum, almost like a super thin sheet of plastic) through my Big Shot with an embossing folder. That worked out surprisingly well. I backed the pergamano with white card stock smudged with Brilliance pearlescent ink. I used the same color of Brilliance to stamp a center frame using the Label Love stamp set, then punched it out with the Artisan Label punch. (Both of these items will be in the new Stampin' Up! catalog that goes live on May 31st.) The center piece is from the new A Round Array stamp set, stamped in another color of Brilliance ink and punched using the new 7/8" scallop punch. (More items that will be available in the new catalog!) I could not get a good picture of the ATC because of all the shimmer and shine, but it really is a beauty in real life.

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I'm also working on some Faux Silk cards. I received a gorgeous piece of tissue paper with a gift recently, and just HAD to make some cards using this tissue paper. The Faux Silk technique is embarrassingly easy: Just scrunch up the tissue paper into a tight ball, then carefully unfold it without tearing the paper. Use a glue stick to attach the tissue paper to some white card stock and then use it as a layer in a card.

The first of these cards was created as a timely sympathy card for a friend who recently lost her stepmom. Gosh, sympathy cards are hard to make when you know who they'll be sent to. :( For this card I used a color I usually avoid, Always Artichoke, because it went so well with the tissue paper.

For the second and third card in this series, I used a card base of Brilliant Blue, a Stampin' Up! retired color. The sentiment on the first is from the stamp set A Round Array, and is punched with the new 7/8" scallop circle punch.

I used the retired Build-a-Brad kit to create a custom brad for the other Brilliant Blue card. I'm not sure, but I think I may have the brad upside down, lol.

I have a bunch more cards to make in this series, and I'll post them as I finish them.

Despite having all the components to create the card as designed in Stampin' Up!'s Dressed Up Birthday Kit, I decided to invest in the kit anyway -- figuring it would greatly increase the chances that I would actually MAKE the card. My plan worked! The very day my SU! order arrived, I tore into this kit and started playing. Interestingly, not one of these cards is exactly how the kit designer had in mind. They're all very similar, but each one has a little tweak to make it slightly different.

For example, on this first card, the fancy edge was my idea. To be honest, I was just covering a flub, lol. After I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment, I realized that it was way too far over to the left, so the punched border was the perfect solution to recenter it.

I rounded the corners on this next one (and the rest of them, since I liked the look so much better), added a clear faceted button instead of the little vanilla rose, and switched to a different sentiment.

This next one was a close to original design as I got, the only differences being the rounded corners and the pearl necklace.

How about a woodgrain button instead of a rose?

And finally, my favorite! I messed up a card base and then found I was completely out of Crumb Cake card stock. The solution was to switch over to a Strawberry Slush card base, which also gave me the perfect excuse to cut into a piece of 2013-2015 In Color card stock for the first time. Ohh, how I love my Strawberry Slush!

Inside of the card:

And, of course, matching Very Vanilla envelopes:

I hope I remember to come back to this project and create some more cards like these. All it would take to reproduce them would be:

About Me

My name is Joyce and I'm avid stamper, having been involved with the craft since long before it was cool. I'm an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin' Up!, and I love to share my projects on this blog. Welcome!

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This is my personal blog; I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and I am responsible for its content. Stampin' Up! does not endorse the use of or contents of the classes, services, or non-Stampin' Up! products I may offer here.

All content, including designs, concepts, text, and photographs are property of Joyce Spear. Stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up! 1990-2017 unless otherwise indicated. My designs and artwork are shared for your personal inspiration and enjoyment. You may CASE (Copy and Selectively Edit) my artwork for your personal use, e.g. for such things as decorative projects, swaps, and classes; but you may not use them for publication, re-selling, or contest submissions. Thanks so much for your cooperation!